May 7th Standridge v Sugiuchi - Long ball production

It's rare to come across a game which is basically flawless but this gem of a performance by Tigers meets all the criteria. A wonderful match in which Tigers scored five runs from their four hits. Good defense coupled with good pitching kept the Giants scoreless and there could be no objection to Standridge pitching the entire game. Fujii's hitting streak continued in a big way with his first home run of the season but the star was Arai who hit two home runs. Tigers only other hit was a double from Yamato. Scores

        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Tigers  0 0 1 3 0 0 1 0 0 5 4 0
Giants  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0

Starting Lineups

Tigers
1. Nishioka (Second)
2. Yamato (Second)
3. Toritani (Short)
4. Murton (Left)
5. Ryota Arai (Third)
6. Takahiro Arai (First)
7. Shunsuke (Right)
8. Fujii (Catcher)
9. Standridge (Pitcher)

Giants
1. Wakiya (Second)
2. Matsumoto (Centre)
3. Sakamoto (Short)
4. Abe (Catcher)
5. Lopez (First)
6. Murata (Third)
7. Chono (Right)
8. Kamei (Left)
9. Sugiuchi (Pitcher)

Tigers started quietly - Sugiuchi was never going to be easy to beat on home territory. Nishioka flew out to right and then Yamato flew out to left. Toritani hit a weak grounder back to Sugiuchi for an easy third out. Standridge started spectacularly striking out Wakiya looking and then Matsumoto swinging. He made very good use of the inside pitch throughout his pitching sesson. Sakamoto though produced Giants first hit - a single to centre. Abe got all jammed up and broke his bat flying out to Nishioka to end the innings. Tigers second was quiet with no one getting on base though Arai did show signs of his later success flying out to right - just a ranging shot as it were. Giants were also unable to get on base and their second was quiet. So far the pitching had been dominant. Shunsuke led off Tigers third by flying out to right. One wonders why he was brought in to replace Itoh as Itoh was perfectly fit and beginning to hit. Next was Fujii who is hot at the moment. He swung aggressively at a high straight and drove the ball nicely over the wall for a solo home run 1-0 Tigers and a stunned Sugiuchi. Fujii himself thought that the ball hadn't made it and stopped on first but was signaled on. It had been a clear home run. Standridge struck out swinging and then Nishioka grounded out. Standridge needed to protect the lead and did so effectively. Kamei hit deep to Murton for the first out of the bottom of the third. Sugiuchi grounded out to Standridge. Then Wakiya flew out to left.

Sugiuchi was possibly perturbed by giving up that home run and so wasn't really concentrating at the beginning of the fourth. Yamato was the batter and he doubled - Tigers only other hit apart from home runs. Toritani flew out and Murton struck out looking and it looked like Sugiuchi had recovered. However, he ran into trouble with Ryota maybe thinking that this was a dangerous batter and walked him - runners on first and second. The dangerous batter though was the next one - Arai. He took three pitches before hitting high and right to deposit the ball in the Giants oendan for a three run home run 4-0 Tigers. Truth be told the ball just cleared the wall but it made it and it changed the complexion of the game. The Giants were suddenly chasing a big deficit. Shunsuke proved to be the final batter of the innings grounding out to short. Giants did start their fourth well. Matsumoto led off with a double. Sakamoto grounded out to Nishioka taking Matsumoto to third. It was a sign of the Giants fans desperation that they had started singing their chance march. Next was Abe and he hit a low ball into Toritani's glove - a nice low catch and one which kept Matsumoto on third. Lopez couldn't do anything and grounded out to Toritani to end the innings. Fujii tried again at the start of Tigers fifth but this time could only fly out - never mind he had already done more than enough. The innings ended with Nishioka falling to a nice catch by Kamei in foul ground. No one had reached base this time. Murata flew out to start Giants fifth and then surprise of surprises there was another double; this time from Chono. His support was Kamei and Sugiuchi and with Standridge pitching well it was never likely that Giants would make something of it and both batters fell with Chono not moving from second. Tigers sixth saw everyone fly out - Even though he had given up four runs Sugiuchi was not proving easy to hit. With one out in Giants sixth Matsumoto hit over Standridge into centre for a single. Sakamoto though hit straight to Toritani for the innings ending double play. Tigers would make very effective use of this throughout the rest of the game.

The Tigers seventh and Ryota hit deep to right where he flew out. Next was Arai who blasted his sixth pitch into the middle of the left stand for a solo home run 5-0 Tigers. Tigers wouldn't hit again all evening and in fact wouldn't have another base runner either but had a very comfortable lead. Shunsuke struck out swinging and then Fujii grounded out to end a very successful innings. Once again Giants tried to get back into the game and in their seventh Abe led off singling to right. Lopez hit just past Ryota at third. Ryota pulled off a superb stop and then rolled and was up to make the throw to second but just too late - Abe was safe on second with Lopez on first with no outs. There was nothing Ryota could have done about it - he did well to make the stop. Murata was lured into hitting to third and this time Ryota had all the time he needed to throw to second for the start of the double play. Giants were two down with a runner on third. Chono hit deep to right but Shunsuke took the catch comfortably near the wall and the Giants had failed to score again. Perhaps surprisingly Sugiuchi returned for Tigers eighth - maybe a punishment innings. Still he did well getting his three batters without allowing any base runners. Less surprisingly Standridge returned for Giants eighth but one did worry slightly about the pitch count. Kamei proved a big challenge taking eight pitches before flying out very deep - a nice take by Itoh (replacement right) right next to the wall. Then Ishii (pinch hitter and replacement first) hit deep into centre. Yamato had to track back and took a fine jumping running catch near the wall for the second out. Tigers fielding was superb and just when it was needed. The final out was Yano who was struck out in three by a fired up Standridge. Ichioka pitched Tigers ninth and dealt with Tigers clean up efficiently - retiring the batters in order. So to the Giants ninth and Standridge. Matsumoto grounded out to Nishioka. Then Sakamoto flew up to right and Itoh was under it confidently and securely. Finally, Abe hit to Nishioka who made a superb dive to stop the ball and was up in time to throw to Arai at first for the game ending out. Tigers victory.

An excellent victory in which Tigers had done everything right. They had left no one on base and had no double plays. Good production from their hits had ensured that they were always in control but the application of control was superb. Giants just didn't get any traction and were stopped short by superb fielding and pitching whenever they showed signs of generating any momentum. Arai's contribution had been enormous and he has now hit home runs three games in a row. Tigers can sweep the Giants tonight especially if they play like they did in this dominating performance.